WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is sending an elite chemical and biological warfare response team to the Persian Gulf at the end of the month as part of the massive stealth buildup of U.S. forces for a possible war with Iraq, The Post has learned.

Military officials said last night that a 350-man contingent of Marines from the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force will be sent to a U.S. base in the region – most probably Kuwait.

The Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies are concerned that with tensions running high, Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein could decide to launch a pre-emptive attack on U.S. troops or Israel with chemical or biological missiles.

The American CBIRF units, created in 1996, are rapid-response forces assigned to locate and decontaminate areas hit by chemical or biological weapons.

The teams also include specially trained medical personnel who set up high-tech decontamination tents to treat victims; security officers to seal off areas; and support staff to provide clean water, food and shelter.

Meanwhile, a founder of Saddam’s atomic-bomb program said Iraq will be able to produce three nuclear weapons within a few months using uranium smuggled from Brazil.

Iraq is also using pirated German technology that makes bombs easier and faster – and can create an entire arsenal, Dr. Khidir Hamza told The Times of London.

CHEMICAL WARRIORS

* Created in 1996, the Marines’ Chemical and Biological Incident Response Force is a self-contained and self-sufficient unit designed to detect and contain biowarfare attacks.

* Sources said the 350-strong unit – based at Camp Lejeune, NC – will be sent tp the Persian Gulf at the end of the month.

* They have been trained to deal with “G-series” nerve agents like sarin gas, “H-series” blister agents like mustard gas and 25 biological threats, such as anthrax and typhoid.

* Outfitted with air tanks, gas masks and a variety of devices for detecting attacks, they carry up to 70 pounds of gear and drive the German-made XM-93 Fox – a nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaisaance vehicle.